Hi everyone. Have been advised to repost this here by Marjon. Hope you can help me. I’ve got a 1997 Defender 90, petrol, 2-litre. I took it to a LR mechanic here in the Czech Republic and he said he had never seen that engine in a Land Rover before and did not know what it was, but I read somewhere that “Land Rover also fitted the Rover T16 engine to a special batch of Defenders built for the Italian Carabinieri”. My LR comes from Italy and it says DOHC 16 valve on it (not sure if that definitely means it is a Rover T16 does it?), so pretty definitely a Rover T16 DOHC 16 valve engine. Anyway I have got two problems (please forgive me for being a bit of a technical ignoramus and also they have explained this to me in Czech, so I’m struggling to understand on a couple of fronts):
1. According to the mechanic, it‘s got a loose piston pin that needs sorting out
2. It’s overheating, badly, every time I drive it. I know I should not have driven it when it overheated, but I did and now am in trouble. The mechanic tried replacing virtually the whole circulation system (new water pump, new thermostat, removed and flushed the radiator and hoses, etc.), but no joy. Strangely, if this is relevant… the water in the expansion tank stays cold for ages, even when the needle is right up in the red and the hose leading into the radiator stays soft for “longer than normal” according to the mechanic. Does that mean a head gasket issue or something?
Anyway, my main issue is this: should we just be looking to perform a complete overhaul, or as the mechanic has suggested (in view of the two problems and the cost of an overhaul – he says pushing 3000 quid, with “grinding” – whatever that means…), just replacing the engine. Since I am based in Eastern Europe, it will perhaps be tricky to find a replacement engine. Apparently the same engine was also fitted to the Rover 220/420/820 and the 620turbo. Anyone know of one available? (can come over to the UK and pick it up). Thanks for any help.
1. According to the mechanic, it‘s got a loose piston pin that needs sorting out
2. It’s overheating, badly, every time I drive it. I know I should not have driven it when it overheated, but I did and now am in trouble. The mechanic tried replacing virtually the whole circulation system (new water pump, new thermostat, removed and flushed the radiator and hoses, etc.), but no joy. Strangely, if this is relevant… the water in the expansion tank stays cold for ages, even when the needle is right up in the red and the hose leading into the radiator stays soft for “longer than normal” according to the mechanic. Does that mean a head gasket issue or something?
Anyway, my main issue is this: should we just be looking to perform a complete overhaul, or as the mechanic has suggested (in view of the two problems and the cost of an overhaul – he says pushing 3000 quid, with “grinding” – whatever that means…), just replacing the engine. Since I am based in Eastern Europe, it will perhaps be tricky to find a replacement engine. Apparently the same engine was also fitted to the Rover 220/420/820 and the 620turbo. Anyone know of one available? (can come over to the UK and pick it up). Thanks for any help.
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